


Toffee Flavored Melodies

by comebacknow



Category: The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types
Genre: College AU, Lots of Cursing, M/M, Youtube AU, modern day AU, sorry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-20
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-26 23:34:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21877432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/comebacknow/pseuds/comebacknow
Summary: Thomas, like most people, doesn't make the smartest decisions when he drinks. One of these decisions happens to be leaving a dumb comment on a YouTube video. The problem is, he doesn't quite know how to stop.
Relationships: Newt/Thomas (Maze Runner)
Comments: 21
Kudos: 166
Collections: Maze Runner Secret Santa 2019





	Toffee Flavored Melodies

**Author's Note:**

  * For [astralpenguin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/astralpenguin/gifts).



> A submission for the TMR Secret Santa exchange 2019. My giftee asked for internet friends/YouTube newtmas au.

“Hey guys. Welcome back. I got a couple requests to do a cover of Blackbird. I used to play this one a lot when I was younger actually. It was one of the first songs I learned to play, as it’s pretty simple. The chords are pretty easy and, er, you only really need two fingers on the fret board at a time. Any more you’re doing it wrong,” he laughs softly. “Er, alright. Let’s uh… let’s just get started.” He clears his throat, shifts in his seat and begins.

\--

Thomas is a scrambling mess when he falls into the coffee shop on Seventh and Garden. He skirts around a suburban mom and her daughter, slides behind the counter and shoulders through the polished wooden door labeled _Employees Only_.

His bike helmet clatters to the ground and gets nudged by his scuffed white (see: grayish brown and covered in dirt) Adidas sneaker. He does a quick trade of his denim jacket for the light blue apron that has _Jorge’s_ written in cursive across the chest and he’s pulling on the matching blue cap as he stumbles back out of the employee room and behind the counter.

“Late start?” Brenda smirks as she tops off a latte with steamed milk.

Thomas tilts his head back and forth as he finishes tying his apron behind his back. “Something like that.”

Brenda snorts. “Were you up all night drooling over your handsome, brooding, troubled musician boyfriend who doesn’t know you exist?”

“Okay,” he makes a face at her, “was that weird voice completely necessary?”

“I could ask you the same thing every time you talk about him.” She flashes him a smile and then caps the coffee. “Latte for Sonya!” She places it on the counter and moves back to grab the next cup in line.

Thomas walks over to the register and taps Teresa on the shoulder. 

She turns and her face breaks in relief. “Oh thank god,” she exhales. “I have an exam in forty minutes and I need to finish studying.”

“Go, go,” Thomas waves her away. “Go find a cure for cancer.” He takes his place at the register and looks over the counter to the next person in line. “How’s it going? What can I get you?”

“Do you have any specials?”

Thomas squints one eye in confusion and turns to Brenda before looking back at the kid. “Um, no. No, man, just, uh…” he points to the chalkboard menu above him. “Just what you see there and the prices that are next to them.”

“Uh, right,” he nods. “Uh, I’ll just take… I’ll do a small coffee.”

“Any flavors?”

“No, um. Are they extra?”

“Fifty cents.”

“No, it’s okay.”

Thomas blinks and reaches for a cup. “Hot? Iced?”

“Um…”

“Hot’s thirty cents cheaper.”

“Hot’s fine.”

Thomas blinks at him and then grabs the cup. “Sugar packets are on the counter on the side and, uh, do you want milk? No charge.”

“Um, milk, yeah, please.”

Thomas nods. “Name?”

“Aris?”

“Aris,” Thomas repeats as he scribbles it down. He slides the cup down toward Brenda. “Alright, two twenty-five.”

The boy, Aris, upends several quarters from a plastic bag on the counter.

Thomas blinks at them.

Someone in the line sighs, but Thomas doesn’t dare look up.

Aris counts nine quarters out and slides them across the counter to Thomas and then sweeps the rest back into the baggy.

“You can pick it up down that way,” Thomas nods toward Brenda.

Aris nods and scuttles off to the other end of the counter.

Thomas closes his eyes and shakes his head before he’s moving onto the next customer. “Hey, how’s it- ah fuck.”

“Hey greenie,” Gally smiles down at him with pointed teeth.

Thomas rubs at his eye and then drops his hand. “Are you ordering something or are you just here to ask me for money?”

“Ask you?” Gally repeats, brows skyrocketing into his hairline. “Ask you? You think I’m here to _ask_ you for money?”

Thomas bites down on a sigh and eyes the next two people in line. “Look, man. I’m at work. Let me finish this shift and I’ll come pay you.”

“Well, that sounds familiar.”

“It was my cousin’s wedding I needed the money for a gift.”

“Don’t care,” Gally shrugs. “I’ve got tuition to pay. Fifty bucks. In my hand. By six o’clock.”

“Fine,” he answers quietly. “Do you want coffee or not? I have to get to these customers so I can make some money.”

Gally glares at him for a second longer before he takes off, shoving Aris into the door on his way out.

“The hell was that about?” Brenda asks quietly.

Thomas sighs. “Gally took my Mechanics midterm for me.”

“Wait, really?”

“I wasn’t around and I couldn’t get an extension.”

“No, I mean, like, he passed?”

Thomas furrows his brow and nods at her before he turns to the customer who’s finally decided on her iced vanilla latte.

It’s just after five o’clock when Thomas finally gets back to his dorm room. He collapses face first onto his stiff mattress and sighs.

“I take it work went well,” Minho laughs.

Thomas grunts in response. He turns his head to look at his roommate. “No practice today?”

“Nope,” Minho answers. “Coach is sick. Flu or something going around.”

“Lovely. Maybe I’ll catch it and die.”

“We can only hope. I’ve got a biology exam that I’m pretty sure I’m gonna tank. I could really use a free A.” He smiles cheekily over at Thomas.

Thomas lifts his middle finger and then lets his arm dangle off the bed. “Hey do you know which dorm is Gally’s?”

“Gally?” Minho asks with a face. “The hell do you need to get to Gally’s for?”

“I owe him fifty bucks. Long story that’s really not worth it.” Thomas pushes up from the bed and rubs at his face.

“I think he’s on level B.”

“Great.”

Thomas pulls his phone out and scrolls through his notifications. There’s an email from YouTube saying someone liked a comment he left. He frowns at it and opens it.

**TGreen04:** yoooo this is SICK!!!

_Liked by PlayedByNewt 2:06p_

Thomas blinks at it. “I’m never drinking again.”

“Yeah, you are. Sigma Alpha party tonight. It’s a black and white.”

“Man, fuck that,” Thomas pushes up from his bed completely and pockets his phone. “At least take my phone from me.”

“What’d you do?” Minho laughs and looks up from his Xbox.

“I commented on a YouTube video.”

Minho furrows his brow at him and then bursts out laughing. “Who the fuck does that?”

Thomas shakes his head. “This guy did a cover of Blackbird by the fuckin’ Beatles and I said it was sick.”

Minho tosses his head back on a cackle.

“In caps,” Thomas finishes.

“Oh yeah, you know, the Beatles. Sick guitar licks, bro,” Minho makes some exaggerated hand gesture. “Totally vile sliiiiiides.”

Thomas pushes Minho’s head and walks off toward the door. “I’m off to pay Gally. I’ll meet you in the dining hall.”

“Tell him I said fuck off!”

Thomas drags his face along his pillow and groans at the way his brain seems to take a bit longer to follow. He flails an arm toward his desk for his phone and squints with one eye at the time to find it’s nearly noon.

He stretches again and then rolls over on his back to check his notifications. His chest tightens when he sees an email from YouTube. He hovers over it for a minute before he opens it.

Finally, he decides to just get it over with.

**TGreen04:** yoooo this is SICK!!!

_Liked by PlayedByNewt 2:06p_

**TGreen04:** haha I’m glad u got my sarcasm

**PlayedByNewt:** ?

**TGreen04:** using ‘sick’ for the beatles lol

_Read 1:21a_

**TGreen04:** like I mean it’s a cool song but like the caps lock’d sick was a joke

_Read 1:24a_

**TGreen04:** not ur playing ur really good

_Liked by PlayedByNewt 1:25a_

“Oh, fucking hell,” Thomas sighs out.

Minho grunts in the bed opposite him.

“YouTube comments.”

“Again?” Minho asks into his pillow.

“What the hell is wrong with me?”

“The fact that you’re talking while I’m trying to sleep. Shut the fuck up.”

Thomas flips off Minho’s back and then stares at the phone. He taps his fingers on the edges of his case trying to decide if it’s worth trying to salvage his pride by leaving yet another comment explaining that he was inebriated. It’s then that he notices the “New video!” notification.

He stretches up for his headphones and plugs them in, gives Minho a glance and then hits play.

“Hey everyone. Got some decent feedback on my Blackbird cover. Thanks for all the comments. Um, got another good one for you. It’s, er, pretty sick.” He flashes his eyes quickly up to the camera before he looks back down at his guitar.

Thomas pauses and rewinds the video.

_“It’s, er, pretty sick.”_

Thomas pauses it on the moment his eyes flash up to the camera. There’s a hint of a smile on one side of his mouth.

Thomas blinks at the image for a moment before he screenshots it and then hits play. He watches the performance of an acoustic version of a Grateful Dead song and then immediately clicks the comment button. 

“Hey, what’re you having?” Thomas holds his polite smile in place while he waits for the person in front of him to order.

“Umm, just an iced coffee with almond milk, please?”

“Name?”

“Ben.”

“All set. You can pick it up over that way,” he says as he swipes the debit card and hands it back. “Hey, how can I help you?”

Thomas’ breath catches in the back of his throat behind a sudden invisible wall.

“Umm, can I just have a large black coffee with a bit of toffee syrup?”

Thomas blinks once and then twice before he enters the order into the computer in front of him, heart pounding in his chest. “Um. Iced or hot?”

“Hot, please.”

“Indeed,” Thomas mumbles.

“Sorry?”

Thomas looks back up to curious brown eyes. “I asked your name? For the cup?” Without moving his gaze, he snatches a cup for proof.

“Newt.”

Thomas blinks. “Newt. Is your name.”

“Yeah,” Newt shifts his weight a bit and looks down at the counter.

“Okay,” Thomas scribbles the name on the cup. “Um. Great. You’re uh. You’re all set.”

Newt glances at the cup and back to Thomas before he lifts his debit card.

“Right,” Thomas shakes his head. “I meant, like, you’re all set? Like, with a question mark. Like, you’re all set? Nothing else?”

“Um, no, that’s all.”

“Great,” Thomas takes the card, swipes it and hates himself.

It only gets worse when Newt doesn’t leave the coffeeshop, but sets up his laptop to work. When their usual ten minute between-classes rush dies out, Thomas tugs Brenda to the side.

“That’s him,” he whispers.

“What’s who?”

“That-“ Thomas gives her a flat look. “The guy at the counter with the laptop. That’s the guitar guy.”

Brenda to her credit does a subtle scan of the shop before she turns back to Thomas. “Aw, he’s cute.”

“He’s perfect.”

“Sure,” Brenda snorts and turns toward the latte machine to clean the steamer. 

Thomas presses himself to her side. “His name is Newt.”

“My name is step the fuck back from my personal space.”

Thomas takes a big step back.

Brenda finishes wiping down the stainless steel and then leans over the sink to rinse the rag out. “Can you restock cups?”

Thomas shifts his gaze from Newt and crouches down to the cabinet to pull out sleeves of cups. As he starts stacking them on the counter he asks her, “do you think I should say something?”

“What would you say?”

Thomas shrugs. “I don’t know.”

“Then it’s probably best you don’t.”

Thomas shifts his gaze over Brenda to look back at Newt. Something flips in his chest as he sees Newt’s smile curl.

He covers his smile with a thin hand and then he’s typing something out.

“Ugh,” Thomas turns and stacks the rest of the cups. “Do you think he has a girlfriend?”

Brenda glances over and then looks back at Thomas. “Musician in his twenties with an accent? I think he has several girlfriends.”

“I could be one of those girlfriends,” Thomas reasons.

Brenda snorts. “Just go say hi. See if he needs a refill or something.”

Thomas balls up the plastic sleeve and looks over at Newt. He tosses the plastic onto the bin, ignores it when it bounces off and falls to the floor, and walks over to the counter. “Hey, uh, do you need anything?”

Newt looks up at him. “Hm? Oh, no, I’m good.” He looks down at his full cup of coffee.

“Right,” Thomas nods. 

“Um, do you need me to move?”

“What? No! No, no, I was just checking.”

“I can head to a table if you want.” Newt starts shuffling around and grabbing his charger until Thomas grabs his coffee cup and drags it toward himself.

“Hey. Stay.”

Newt’s smile quirks as he settles back onto the stool. “Okay.”

Thomas slides the coffee back to him. “What, um, what’re you working on?”

“Oh just,” Newt gestures vaguely in the air.

Thomas raises an eyebrow. “As yes. And of course by this,” he mimicks the movement, “you must mean you’re working on a new environmentally friendly powered rocket ship.”

Newt looks up at him with a furrowed brow. “Well, what else would it mean?”

Thomas feels his mouth curve and watches Newt’s mirror it. It’s when they both burst out a laugh that something loosens in Thomas’ chest finally and he decides that maybe Newt isn’t as intimidating as he thought he’d be.

“I’m, uh, I play guitar?” Newt says like a question.

Thomas nods and quickly shuffles through the ways he wants to take this conversation.

“I post, um, I put videos on YouTube. It’s sorta dumb, but like, I don’t know. I have a decent following and I’ve done coffeehouses and stuff and sometimes followers will go and throw me an extra couple bucks so. Whatever pays tuition, right?”

“Are you studying music?”

Newt looks up at him. “I’m studying rocket science. Didn’t we cover that?”

Thomas snorts out a laugh.

“Hey! Greene! If you’re gonna hang out chatting all day can you at least make a latte?”

Thomas turns to glare at Brenda over his shoulder and then turns back to Newt. “Duty calls.”

“By all means,” Newt gestures for him to go.

Thomas turns back to Brenda and snatches the cup from her hand. He quickly goes through the motions, still debating whether or not to tell Newt he _is_ one of his oh-so-loyal followers, but when he turns, it’s to find Newt talking to some adorable blonde girl.

His chest caves as he pours steamed milk on top of the drink and considers pouring it on his face, if only to have an excuse to leave.

**TGreen04:** nice job! Cover came out good

**PlayedByNewt:** that’s it? No caps lock or dragged out sarcastic words?

Thomas twists his mouth as he tries to come up with some idea of a clever response.

**TGreen04:** figured I’d cut you some slack today. Don’t get used to it.

It’s only twenty minutes later he gets another notification. This time, it’s a direct message.

**PlayedByNewt:** Hey

Thomas tilts his head at it and looks around his empty dorm room as if someone is going to pop up and tell him it’s a joke. When that doesn’t happen, he responds.

**TGreen04:** hey there

 **PlayedByNewt:** Figured it’s better to just DM you. Can’t have you clogging up my comments, might scare others away.

 **TGreen04:** oh cuz I’m so scary?

 **PlayedByNewt:** You come off quite intimidating in your comments, so, yeah. Maybe.

Thomas blinks at the message. “Intimidating?” he murmurs out loud. “Me?”

“Not a chance,” Minho answers as he bursts through the doorway. “Get out.”

Thomas looks up at him. “Excuse me?”

“Out,” Minho repeats. “I have someone coming over.”

“Who?”

“None of your business. Out.”

Thomas rolls his eyes, but he doesn’t give Minho a hard time. They’ve always been good about giving the other the room when the time comes. He grabs his charger and hoodie and takes off from the dorms. 

**TGreen04:** sorry roommate issue. you think I’m intimidating?

 **PlayedByNewt:** Everything okay?

 **TGreen04:** he’s got someone coming by. You know how it goes.

 **PlayedByNewt:** Ah, of course. 

**PlayedByNewt:** Can I ask you a weird question?

 **TGreen04:** go for it

 **PlayedByNewt:** How old are you?

Thomas blinks at the message.

**PlayedByNewt:** sorry if that’s weird to ask. It’s just that I want to make sure I’m not talking to some sixty-year old lad.

 **TGreen04:** do 60 yr olds often troll yt comments?

 **PlayedByNewt** : You tell me

 **TGreen04:** HA! I’m def not 60. I’m actually still in school. college but yea.

 **PlayeByNewt:** Oh so am I

Thomas resists the urge to tell him he knows, and ends up being saved from the opportunity when Newt does it for him.

**PlayedByNewt:** Which I now realize you probably already know, given the videos.

 **TGreen04:** to be fair you look pretty young but yea I figured college lol

 **PlayedByNewt:** It’s so weird on this side of things. Everyone sees me and knows my name and stuff yet I know none of the people watching and commenting.

 **TGreen04:** a bit creepy when you say it that way

 **PlayedByNewt:** yeah well lol

Thomas chews at his lip and looks up to the coffeeshop.

**TGreen04:** Well, if it makes you feel better, you might know me a bit better than you thought?

 **PlayedByNewt:**??

 **TGreen04:** what are you doing right now?

 **PlayedByNewt:** absolutely nothing lol

 **TGreen04:** feel like meeting for a coffee? Black with toffee syrup?

 **PlayedByNewt:** Wait… is that how you drink your coffee?

Thomas feels a laugh roll through him. 

**TGreen04:** meet me at Jorge’s

He pockets his phone and shoulders through the door. He nods a greeting to Teresa as he walks up to the counter. 

“Why are you here?” Teresa asks. “Isn’t it your day off?”

“Meeting someone,” he answers. “Can you pour me an iced coffee with extra sugar and then a hot black coffee with toffee syrup?”

Teresa gives him an odd look and then glances to the side.

Thomas follows her gaze to the small counter where Newt sits with his laptop and coffee eyeing him strangely. His heart stutters inside of him.

“Er, T… Green?” Newt asks. “Zero four?”

Thomas scratches at the back of his head. “Uh, yeah. Yeah that’s me.”

“Oh shit,” Newt laughs. “Why didn’t you say you worked here?”

“I was getting to it.”

Newt’s brow furrows. “Wait, you talked with me the other day.”

“Yeah,” Thomas admits awkwardly. “Yeah, I did.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

Thomas shrugs and accepts the iced coffee from Teresa. He walks over to Newt to stand next to him. “I don’t know. Felt kind of embarrassed, I guess.”

“Embarrassed?”

“All the drunken comments on your videos,” Thomas laughs.

“Oh.” Confusion flashes over Newt’s features. “You were drunk?”

“Yeah. I mean, not that I didn’t mean them! You’re really good at guitar. Just uh, I don’t know. I kind of sounded like a fanboy.”

Newt’s smile curves up. “And?” he asks. “Are you?”

Thomas narrows his eyes just a touch. “Unsure. Trying to figure that out.”

Newt slowly closes his laptop and stares at it for a moment before he turns back to Thomas. “Well, how much time do I have to convince you before you head back to your dorm?”

The gears in Thomas’ brain slam to a halt. “What?”

Newt’s smile just widens a bit.

“I’ve got all night,” Thomas sputters out stupidly. “Not that – I’m not. I’m not saying you have to hang out with me all night. And I’m not implying that we have to do anything that would take the whole night. Oh god.” He scratches at his eye to distract himself from talking any more.

“Right,” Newt laughs. “Why don’t we start with coffees,” he nods to the seat next to him. “See where we go from there?”

Thomas eyes him for a minute before he nods. “Yeah. Yeah alright. I think we can manage that.” He takes the seat next to Newt and sips his iced coffee.

“So,” Newt begins. “What does the T stand for anyway?”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it! Happy holidays!


End file.
